Nobody wants to mess with a menopausal woman, but Rose Weaver plans to help you better understand just what theyâre going through in her solo performance, Menopause Mama.

Donât think that it doesnât affect you either, because Weaver says that her performance is for the entire community.

ãAging and menopause affects every family member. Some think it only affects women age 40 and up who are in the peri-menopause and menopausal stages. But menopause affects the whole family,ä she said.

ãGirls need to know that it will happen to them and be prepared for it, just as they are prepared, hopefully, for getting their first menstruation, or just as they are prepared for pregnancy. If they are not, there is no way to have a healthy experience with this and move into the wise woman stage of being female.ä

Men need to know about it too, says Weaver, and they canât just ignore the symptoms in their partner, mother or sister and hope it goes away. Weaver said, ãI want men to know that menopause is as natural as puberty, only the reverse, and that they will understand better how to be present with their partners if they are educated about this natural process.

ãIt happens to them too, but some call it Andropause, when testostorone production is reduced. Some men go out and buy a red sports car or have affairs in an attempt to hold on to their virility. I want them to see that they donât have to run away from it. Thereâs nothing anyone can do about it anyway.ä

From laughter to tears

Weaver describes Menopause Mama as ãcompelling, cutting edge and often hilariousä and says she loves ãperforming the show, interacting with the audience and hearing their responses.ä She adds that reactions to the show often range from laughter to tears.

ãIn many societies and cultures, aging and menopause are treated with dread. That goes against nature. My show will help Bermudians look at aging and menopause and perhaps recognize a family member or situation and see that it is normal, that going through it is difficult, that it is funny sometimes, but mainly that we can change how we view these processes if our paradigms have been negative,ä added Weaver.

ãI want women to embrace all the stages of their lives, to treat aging and menopause as positive experiences. Yes, there is pain, as there is sometimes with menstruation, childbirth, aging. To look at these stages in negative ways prohibits us from growing into a whole person or living life fully from beginning to end.ä

And which part of her performance does she most enjoy?

ãI enjoy giving out a couple of hand fans to audience members who admit they are hot, and hearing their reactions when I transform myself from ÎMenopause Mamaâ to a teenage girl or the Wise Woman. But mostly, I enjoy it when a person comes up to me afterward or sends me a note that says, ÎI will never talk about aging in a negative way to my daughter ever again.âä